Do produto educacional à startup: autoetnografia crítica de um professor-empreendedor

Abstract

This thesis investigates the concept of Educational Products and proposes that products developed within the scope of postgraduate studies could achieve greater impact and scope if they were based on real problems and were allowed to be monetized by postgraduate students. To test this hypothesis, the author founded and operated, for two years, a company dedicated to the development of Educational Products, called Investeendo. This work presents a unique case study, analyzing the company’s trajectory from its foundation to receiving investment from an investor. The research adopts participatory research and autoethnography as auxiliary methodologies, allowing an in-depth analysis of the author’s experiences and challenges as a teacher and entrepreneur. Over two years of operation, the results indicate that the possibility of monetizing an educational product, combined with its ability to solve concrete problems, was decisive in reaching a significantly larger audience than would be possible with only its own resources. This thesis does not seek to end the debate, but rather to contribute with an initial argument that stimulates new studies on the intersection between education and entrepreneurship, highlighting the transformative potential of this relationship for the educational sector.